RCB pull-off 10-run win after another Russell carnage
Kolkata, Apr 19: Royal Challengers Bangalore eked out a 10-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders for only their second success of the season after Andre Russell and Nitish Rana nearly pulled off the impossible in the Indian Premier League here on Friday.
Needing 113 runs off the last six overs, Russell (65 off 25) and Rana (85 not out off 46) almost got their team over the line but Moeen Ali managed to defend 24 in the final over.
The tense climax came after Virat Kohli smashed 100 off 58 balls for his fifth century in the IPL and first this season. RCB hammered 91 runs off the last five overs to reach 213 for four, their highest total this year.
Ali's 66 off 28 while batting alongside Kohli also proved crucial for RCB's cause as they finally managed to defend.
The win keeps RCB mathematically alive in the tournament while KKR suffered their fourth loss in as many games.
Following a Kohli special, it was the turn of swing king Dale Steyn to land some body blows on the opposition. Playing his first game of the season after having come in as a replacement, the South African great removed Chris Lynn and Shubman Gill to leave KKR reeling at 33 for three in five overs.
Russell tried his best to pull off another improbable chase for KKR in the company of Nitish Rana but this time it wasn't to be.
Earlier, it was Ali who gave the much needed oxygen to their innings, smashing six sixes and five fours to seize momentum after a slow start. Kohli and Ali shared 90 runs off 43 balls and there was no looking back after Ali's assault.
The match swung in the 16th over when Kuldeep Yadav bled 27 runs with Ali going berserk, smashing the star India spinner for three sixes and two boundaries. The chinaman ended with figures of 1/59 in four overs.
Kohli, who scored his first 50 off 40 balls, changed gears in the second half of his innings. Such was his domination that Kohli took just 17 balls for his second fifty.
Put in, RCB got off to an ordinary start and the absence of AB de Villiers, who was indisposed following dehydration, was felt very much.
Kohli mistimed the ball with a couple of inside-edges to the boundary, while his left-handed opening partner Parthiv Patel (11 off 11) had a hit-and-miss stay before falling to Sunil Narine inside the powerplay.
In the middle of all this, RCB sent in Akshdeep Nath (13 off 15) at number three keeping the in-form Ali in waiting. RCB made only 42 inside the powerplay.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 213 for 4 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 100, Moeen Ali 66 ; Sunil Narine 32/1).
Kolkata Knight Riders: 203 for 5 in 20 overs. (Nitish Rana 85, Andre Russell 65; Dale Steyn 40/2).
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Plane veers off runway, catches fire at South Korean airport with reports of 28 dead
Seoul (AP): A plane with malfunctioning landing gear veered off the runway, hit a fence and caught fire on Sunday at an airport in southern South Korea, killing at least 28 people, according to the emergency office and local media.
The emergency office said the fire was almost put out and rescue officials were trying to remove passengers from the Jeju Air passenger plane at the airport in the southern city of Muan. It said the plane with about 180 people was returning from Bangkok.
South Korean media outlets including Yonhap news agency reported that at least 28 people had died in the fire. The Muan Fire Station said it couldn't immediately confirm the casualty reports. It said emergency workers pulled out at least two passengers.
Yonhap reported the plane veered off the runway and collided with a fence. Emergency officials said they were examining the exact cause of the fire.
Local TV stations aired footage showing thick pillows of black smoke billowing from the plane engulfed with flame.
Deputy Prime Minister Choi ordered officials to employ all available resources to rescue the passengers and crew, according to Yonhap news agency.
BREAKING: Video shows crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216 in South Korea. 181 people on board pic.twitter.com/9rQUC0Yxt8
— BNO News (@BNONews) December 29, 2024
